


From the Ruins

by Aurora521



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angry Kylo Ren, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Armitage Hux is Not Nice, Ben Solo is a Mess, Childhood Trauma, Dark, Dark Reylo, F/M, Flashbacks, Graphic Description, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jakku, Kylo Ren Redemption, Kylo Ren is a Mess, Master/Slave, Mentioned Luke Skywalker, Protective Ben Solo, Protective Kylo Ren, Psychological Trauma, Rey (Star Wars) is a Mess, Rey Needs A Hug, Slave Trade, Slow Burn Rey/Kylo Ren, Starvation, The Resistance is around, slave rey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:01:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23676550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurora521/pseuds/Aurora521
Summary: When Supreme Leader Snoke ordered Kylo Ren to buy a slave girl, he was confident it would pull his young apprentice deeper into the Dark.  The girl Ren selects is far from ordinary, and though something inside Rey has been broken by a lifetime of slavery, something else is awakening.  If the Force is with them, two Jedi may one day emerge from the ruins of Kylo Ren and the slave girl.I realize the master/slave relationship is tricky to handle, and some people just don't like it.  This is fiction.  As the author, the challenge of this work is to create a healthy dynamic between two people with fragile mental states, and while I want to write this as realistically as possible, I realize elements of the story may not transfer to real life.  I do NOT mean this to glorify human trafficking, slavery, etc.  In fact, I hope you come away disgusted by those things and what it can do to victims mentally and physically.  Rape, non-con, torture, etc. are mentioned and implied, but will NOT occur between Rey and Kylo.  This story is intended to be about how they help each other heal, but it will explore some dark themes in Rey's past.  If this isn't your type of fic, I respect that completely and ask you to choose not to read.
Relationships: Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 99
Kudos: 324





	1. The Market

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the darkest fic I have ever written. Please check archive warnings and read the summary since some of the material covered in this story is dark. There will be too much to post warnings in every chapter, so I'm telling you now that there will be themes of rape/non-con/torture/etc. throughout the story, though these will NOT occur Rey and Kylo's relationship. If those are triggers for you or not something you enjoy, please tread cautiously.

Kylo Ren strolled across the hot sandy planet with all the swagger that befitted Han Solo's son and a confidence that only a man who nearly ruled the Galaxy could exude. He was unaccompanied by the normal parade of Stormtroopers. This barren desert planet posed no danger to the First Order. There was but one threat here – being captured and sold into slavery, but Kylo Ren was unconcerned about meeting that fate, entirely focused on his unseemly task.

Supreme Leader Snoke had ordered Ren to Jakku to find himself a servant girl. Snoke had called her a servant, but the truth was that she would be his slave. Not for the first time, his master's orders had caused an uncomfortable tightness in his chest, so intense this time that he'd almost protested. Instead, he buried those rebellious thoughts deep behind his mask and set a course for the nearest slavers' planet.

_A true Sith has no qualms about putting a lesser being in its rightful place. You will learn to keep your servant where she belongs,_ his master had told him.

Still, looking around he felt nothing but distaste at the idea of purchasing a sentient being. Besides, what was General Hux good for if not a tool for Kylo to demonstrate his skill at keeping lesser beings in line?

It was already late in the day when he had arrived on the god-forsaken planet of Jakku, leaving him little time before the markets closed for the day. All around him, happy customers left the auction lot with their… purchases. Some slaves seemed happy enough, though Kylo supposed they knew nothing better than having a kind owner. Others screamed and begged, having to literally be drug away by their new master.

Scenes like that were why he wore the mask.

Ren arrived at the square between sales and took a place in the crowd where he could easily see the stage.

The next seller was a… something. He'd never seen, or even heard of anything quite so hideous, except perhaps Jabba the Hutt from the stories his father-

"No," he whispered to himself angrily.

This was no time to think of the family that betrayed him, and he buried that part of himself back into its grave quickly. Ren turned his attention back to the bulging and oozing, purple creature. It dragged something that wriggled and fought uselessly against him. A human girl, Kylo realized, taking advantage of his height to peer over the diminishing crowd. The thing had her by the hair, three buns that had been pulled almost completely loose, and it carelessly tossed her onto the sandy wood stage. She caught herself on small and heavily bruised arms before the seller wrenched her back to a standing position by her hair.

"Up next, I have a special discounted item for you," the purple thing boomed. "This slave girl might not have much life left, but it will be satisfactory for a few days. Its last position was with Jzchar, so you gentlemen may have a special interest in such a uniquely skilled item."

Some of the men chuckled darkly. Kylo probed the mind of the man next to him, searching for a clue about what Jzchar was. The image of a naked women tied to a bed and sobbing filled his mind. Shocked, he let the Force slip away from him, severing the connection with the man suddenly. So, Jzchar was a brothel owner.

"I will not be a bed-slave again," the girl snarled.

Without so much as a glance her way, the purple creature brought a large hand across her cheek hard. It sent her tumbling to the ground, and her head smashed into the boards with a crack that made Kylo tense and the crowd cheer.

"It is a feisty one," the slaver continued with a laugh. "That's how it ended up in this condition. Still, it will do as it's master commands, even if it takes some… extra motivation."

There was more laughter at that, but Kylo didn't partake. Something was pulling at him again, something he was all too familiar with.

He'd never met this girl before, but for some reason imagining her dead, forgotten, and buried in some sand dune, made his stomach churn. Even worse was thinking of one of the laughing monsters surrounding him 'motivating' her.

_You have too much of your mother in you,_ Snoke would say if he were he to see this moment of weakness in his apprentice.

"I'll start the bidding at ten coins… ten? I see ten. Twelve?"

"Fifteen!" A man shouted.

"Fifteen! Can I get eighteen? Eighteen?"

"Twenty!" Another joined in.

"I hear twenty… can I get twenty-five? Twenty-five?"

The two bounced back and forth for several minutes, reaching fifty-two coins, far from the usual hundreds the average slave would fetch, before the sale seemed to stall. One shook his head, relinquishing his claim.

"Not worth it!" He muttered, moving away.

"We're at fifty-two coins. Do I hear fifty-three? Fifty-three? Going once–"

"One hundred," Kylo Ren spoke clearly, metallically, surprising even himself.

A few faces turned to the black-robed figure who had, until moments ago, gone completely unnoticed. The man who had just been out-bid looked him up and down, glanced at the slave girl, and then shook his head. She wasn't worth it to him

"One hundred!" The slaver seemed just as shocked as the buyers. "Do I hear one hundred one? Anyone?"

By then the audience had lost interest, already looking for the next product on sale. Spending one-hundred coins for a slave that was nearly dead was unheard of and a waste of good money.

"Sold, for one-hundred coin!"

The slaver grabbed the girl by her arm and hauled her off the stage, making way for the next seller. Kylo Ren met him away from the crowd who was already eagerly inspecting a new slave. Wanting to get off the planet as quickly as possible, he handed over the pouch containing the hundred coin without a word.

"Enjoy her while you can, sir," the seller grinned, hardly taking his eyes off the money as he shoved the girl at her new master.

She fell to the ground in a heap, and just like that, the thing that had sold her disappeared into the bustle of the market, never to be seen again.

As Kylo Ren knelt beside her and lifted her unconscious form into his arms, the reality of what he had just done struck him. He owned this person, the way he owned his clothes and ships and trinkets. He didn't think he liked it.

Apparently, she didn't either. As they neared his ship, her eyes fluttered open. The sun was just touching the horizon behind them, casting an eerie glow around his hood and mask. She looked at him, then pushed at his chest. It wasn't hard, but the resistance caught him by surprise, and she was able to roll out of his arms and land heavily on her back.

"I will not be your slave!" She bit out, tears filling her eyes as she stared at the masked figure, wondering what kind of monster lurked beneath the black sea of his robes. "I would rather die!"

A long gash on her temple bled down her face, oozing into her left eye and dripping on the sand as she struggled to stand.

"I won't do it again, do you understand? I will not be kept f-for… I can't! Not again…"

With each word, she seemed to grow weaker, and eventually, she lay still, disoriented and exhausted. Kylo knelt down and placed his gloved hand on her forehead. She flinched at the contact, tears welling in her eyes as he loomed over her, reminding her too much of the men who made her into this.

"Sleep," Kylo implored her.

The word seemed to be spoken into her mind. She could feel cool water filling her body, dragging her down, lapping at her will power, making her eyes heavy. It seemed to trickle out of the masked man's hand and into her head, and though she tried to stay afloat, eventually she let the cool, dark waters claim her.

* * *

"I assure you, she is far from death, Lord Ren."

"Then why would they tell me she was dying?"

The girl was woken by a man's shouting, but she kept her eyes determinedly shut. The longer she could pretend to sleep, the longer until she had to face her new master… and the more she could learn.

"I cannot speak for them, My Lord, but I would guess the medicine on such an uncivilized planet would be insufficient. With our technology, she is already healed, and will be free to go the moment she wakes up."

So, she wasn't dying, at least not anymore it seemed. The freedom that her mortal injury had allowed her was no more, not if she wanted to live. And she wanted to live.

"What was wrong with her?"

"Many things, Lord Ren. I will show you her scans if you would like."

She opened her eyes just enough that she could only just see her surroundings. The room was the brightest, cleanest white she'd ever set eyes on, and besides the doctor and the black-robed man… her master, the space was unoccupied.

The two figures shifted to look at a screen she couldn't see, and she closed her eyes tightly again. This was a new place. She wasn't on Jakku anymore, of that much she was sure. But other than that, nothing changed. She was still a slave and once again the property of a new master.

She had to choke back a quiet sob at the idea of having to adapt to the desires and random whims of another man. Learning what each master wanted was the hardest part of a slave's life. The name she'd been given by one, not liked by the next. The greeting for some, disrespectful to others. What earned nothing more than a disapproving look from one, merited a beating to another.

She hated her last master more than she had hated the rest combined, but she knew his cruelty well. This Lord Ren, as he seemed to be called, was a mystery to her. It was the uncertainty of this situation that made her most afraid. She wanted to survive now that she knew she wasn't dying, but like so many times before… she didn't know how.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos mean the world to me, so please leave some!
> 
> More for this story, and The Rise of Solo, is coming soon.


	2. Rey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She's already awake," he said, looking down at the girl. "Don't pretend, I can sense your consciousness."
> 
> When her eyes opened, they were wide and fearful. The defiance she had shown on Jakku was buried deep inside her now. Most people became sniveling cowards when they faced death, but she hadn't. He almost respected the strength that she hid so carefully. He wondered when it would make a reappearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the support! I'm so glad that you are all enjoying this story. I took some time with this chapter since it sets the tone for their whole relationship, so I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> As always, please check the tags and summary since there will be sensitive and potentially triggering content throughout this story.

Kylo stood next to the doctor as the man, who was annoying him more with every word, explained the scans shown on the screen.

"This is the injury I was most concerned about. It's what Jakku's primitive medicine couldn't have treated. You see this dark spot here?" He traced a circle around a black splotch just under the lungs. "She was bleeding internally, but a few shots and quick Bacta treatment sorted it right out. I also found some bone breaks that weren't set properly, but there's not much I can do with that now. They shouldn't cause problems."

The doctor sighed and turned to the sleeping girl. Now that she was partially clean, even more cuts and bruises were evident on her tanned skin.

"The rest of the damage you can see. If her bruises don't begin to fade in the next three days, bring her back. I will also want to see her if any of those cuts start turning red, swelling, or are warm to the touch. I don't know if you've had a chance to look her over as thoroughly as I have, but she is quite lovely. I think she should serve you well, Lord Ren."

His leather gloved hands clenched, and he resisted the temptation to draw his saber and slice through this man and all his ridiculous medical scans. Kylo didn't like the slimy tone of his voice, or his words for that matter, but he would tolerate it for the medical expertise. Barely.

"When she's awake, you are free to take her."

Underneath his mask, Kylo allowed a smirk, enjoying knowing something the doctor didn't.

"She's already awake," he said, looking down at the girl. "Don't pretend, I can sense your consciousness."

When her eyes opened, they were wide and fearful. The defiance she had shown on Jakku was buried deep inside her now. Most people became sniveling cowards when they faced death, but she hadn't. He almost respected the strength that she hid so carefully. He wondered when it would make a reappearance.

* * *

_"Are you stupid, girl? Do you know what a slave does? She cleans up after her master."_

_"I am sorry, master," she bowed her head. "I was unsure what you wanted from me."_

_The blow came suddenly, without warning, sending blood spraying from her mouth. She staggered but didn't fall. Her master didn't like that, and the next strike was harder. It sent her tumbling to the ground, her shoulder smashing into a wood table leaving a bloody and painful gash._

The girl curled her numb toes and shifted nervously as she hovered just inside the doorway. She watched her new master move about his quarters, meticulously placing books and trinkets back in their proper place. She didn't know whether he expected her to help or stand and wait for instruction. The wrong choice and who knew what would become of her.

_"Touch any of my things without my permission again, and I will rip your hand off… one finger at a time. Am I clear?"_

_"Yes, master."_

_"Good. Now clean this up!"_

_He walked away, leaving her to lay in the remains of a glass table and bleed._

She shivered, from the cold and the memory, as the robed and masked man shuffled through a drawer.

"Here," he spoke robotically through the mask.

Or perhaps it was just his voice. He could be some sort of human-robot, incapable of even the barest hint of empathy. Whatever he was, he held out a pile of black clothes.

"The 'fresher is through there," He pointed to another door in the room. "Clean yourself up and put some real clothes on. I'll be back soon. Do not try to leave this room. Is that clear?"

She nodded and took the clothes, careful not to meet his eyes. At least not where she imagined his eyes would be. Without another word, he swept out of the room.

She exhaled shakily the moment the door whooshed shut behind him. That was one interaction, two counting the silent and tense walk here, without a single punishment. Of course, he might be waiting until she was fully healed to unleash something even more terrible than an owner's usual punishments. Starvings, beatings, whippings, and sexual acts were commonly used to keep slaves in line on Jakku, but this thing that owned her now had the potential to be worse than any of her other masters.

With that thought and her heart still beating wildly in her ears, she moved to explore the fresher, determined to be done before he returned. As they said on Jakku, what keeps the masters happy, keeps the slaves healthy.

* * *

She sat in the corner of the room, tucked in to avoid taking up too much of her master's space and preserve what little warmth remained from the hot water in the 'fresher. Despite being completely enveloped in the oversized pants and massive black sweatshirt, she was still cold and almost shivering. Her hair, damp and hanging loosely around her face, wasn't helping. The bands that held her buns were long lost, and the one remaining had snapped again. Try as she might, she couldn't fix it for a third time, and it had gone in the trash with the medical gown.

She wasn't sitting there for long before Lord Ren stormed into the room. Before she could greet him, he shrugged his cloak carelessly to the floor. Then he whirled around and smashed a gloved hand into the wall with a bang that left a dent in the metal panel. He did it once, then again, and again.

Fear and adrenaline rushed through her. She could hear her heart beating faster as the dark figure's rage seemed to swell and fill the room until it seemed like the small space would explode. Suddenly, almost as if he could sense her discomfort, he turned and looked straight at her, huddled in the corner watching him with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?" He growled the question through his mask. "Never mind. Get in bed."

It took a moment for her to process that he had just spoken the exact words she didn't want to hear. She supposed that after what the doctor had said, she shouldn't be surprised that this Lord Ren wanted her for the skills all of Jzchar's girls acquired, whether they wanted to or not.

"Master," she said quietly, startling a bit when he turned back to her. "Master, please. I will do anything for you, anything."

Kylo watched her stand and walk to him with her head bowed. It was an act that took every bit of her bravery. He was utterly bewildered by this entire interaction, and when she knelt down in front of him and bent her head impossible low in a clear gesture of submission, he only grew more confused.

"I- please, please don't make me. I will do anything else you ask, just please don't ask me for… for…" she trailed off with a wrenching sob.

A new jolt of rage shot through him as he realized what she was saying, what she thought he was asking of her.

"What sort of monster do you think I am?" he bit out in a voice vibrating with barely controlled anger.

"I'm sorry," she answered quickly, not hearing what he said as much as how he said it. "If this is what you ask of me, master, I will h- happily serve you."

From her kneeling position, she could only see the shiny black of his leather boots. Then his black mask was set next to them with a soft clang. She didn't dare look up, too afraid to see whoever or whatever stood over her. Kylo inhaled through his teeth and tried to control his temper.

"I am not that type of monster."

His voice, no longer filtered through the mechanical device of his helmet, sounded surprisingly normal, deep, gravelly, and fortunately much calmer than he felt. Still, his statement was lined with steel. Kylo's rage was not directed at this girl, but at the Jakku slavers and that mysterious Jzchar who had shaped her incredible fierceness into this trembling mess.

He pulled his gloves off, and they joined his helmet on the floor. Without thinking, he reached out to touch her face, surprised by the way she flinched as he brushed her cheek lightly. The cheek along with her forehead and eye was bruised, and he noticed a few small scars on her face.

An uncomfortable feeling of compassion that Kylo Ren rarely experienced swallowed his anger.

She still refused to look at him, beginning to tremble at his proximity. His decidedly human hand was warm on her cheek. After a moment, he dropped it back at his side.

"What's your name?" Kylo breathed, almost in a whisper.

_"What's your name, girl?"_

_"Rey."_

_A hand gripped her throat, squeezing so tight she felt as if it would crush her. The man slammed her against the wall, and his foul breath wafted over her as she struggled for breath._

_"No!" he snarled. "Your name is whatever I want it to be, and you will call me master. Do you understand?"_

_She tried to answer but lacked the breath to do so. He slapped her across the face. The heavy ring he wore split her cheek open. He dropped her to the ground in a heap and placed a heavy black boot on her head, smashing the side of her face into the dirt._

_"Let's try this again. What's your name?"_

_Still gasping, she managed to choke out her answer._

"You may call me whatever pleases you, master."

His heavy sigh told the girl that wasn't the answer he wanted, and she went still, bracing for the first punishment. Instead, he grasped her upper arms and pulled her to a standing position. She shook as he tilted her head up to see him for the first time.

He was a human man, with wavy brown hair that touched the nape of his neck and framed his face. His lips were full beneath a broad nose and deep brown eyes that somehow reflected the same vulnerability that the girl felt.

They stared at each other for a long moment before Kylo spoke in his deep voice.

"What name would you like to be called?"

She swallowed hard, knowing this had to be a trick but not knowing how to answer. Suddenly a light pressure filled her head before disappearing as quickly as it had come.

"Rey," he said to himself and retreated from her fragile mind.

Rey cast her eyes to the ground and took a step backward, her instincts telling her exactly what he had done and the power he held. He looked her up and down. She seemed even smaller dressed in his large clothes.

"Rey," he repeated in a low voice that seemed almost reassuring. "You will never be a bed-slave again. Never again."

And though she knew it was foolish and even deadly for a slave to trust a master, for some unexplainable reason, Rey believed this man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I think that was worth the wait... I hope? Comments and Kudos are much appreciated! The next update should be soon since my semester ends this week. Also, follow my Tumblr (aurora521) for sneak peeks of new chapters of this and other stories, drabbles, updates, etc.
> 
> I know I've been struggling with my mental health like many others, so please take care of yourselves. This is a really rough time for a lot of people, so I hope you are staying as safe as you can, mentally and physically.


	3. Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kylo Ren," Rey murmured to herself, seeing how the name felt.
> 
> It seemed dark, evil, and cruel. It reminded her of the rage that seemed ready to explode out of the man at all times. The name terrified her, and though the man it belonged to had been kind so far, he terrified her too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so short. It's barely 1,000 words, and I'm sorry. This just seemed like the logical breaking point, otherwise, the update would have been really long but also taken a few more days. Maybe this will tide you over.

"I won't make you sleep in my bed if you don't want to."

"Whatever you want-"

"No," Kylo Ren said sternly. "I will make you a bed on the floor."

Rey nodded, unsure of how to act in this situation. She still feared the man was luring her into a sense of safety only to utterly obliterate it when she was at her most vulnerable, and she promised not to allow herself to be lured into a false sense of security. In her experience, masters who didn't want a bed-slave wanted a slave to beat. Rape and beatings, the two ways masters showed power. It Rey was to believe his earlier statement, this man would use the latter.

Kylo opened a drawer and removed a whole armful of blankets that looked far softer and plushier than any fabric Rey had ever touched. As he began piling them together to form a comfortable looking bed in one corner, Rey approached. She knelt down and began spreading them out, occasionally shooting quick, nervous glances at the man beside her. She'd unwittingly positioned herself in perfect kicking range, a spot that she learned to avoid whenever possible.

"Thank you, master. I am grateful for your kindness," Rey said automatically, her voice and actions robotic as she stood and waited for direction.

"Stop."

Rey swallowed hard and tensed at his sharp tone.

"Don't call me master," the man growled.

"What should I call you then?" she whispered. "Lord Ren?"

He paused for a moment.

"My name is Kylo Ren," he finally replied. "You may call me Kylo."

"Kylo Ren," Rey murmured to herself, seeing how the name felt.

It seemed dark, evil, and cruel. It reminded her of the rage that seemed ready to explode out of the man at all times. The name terrified her, and though the man it belonged to had been kind so far, he terrified her too.

* * *

When Rey woke the next morning, Kylo was gone. Outside the room's one window lingered the same starry blackness that made it impossible to determine where in the galaxy they were, not as if she would have known anyway.

A tray of food sat on the table with a note scrawled in messy handwriting. She picked the paper up and squinted at it, only recognizing a few letters like o and s. Jakku slavers didn't allow slaves to read, not the pretty ones anyway. She couldn't even write her name. She could say how it was spelled, but the letters she said had no visual meaning for her.

Rey could only assume this food belonged to her master, Kylo, so despite the painful clenching in her stomach, she left the tray untouched. The food was steaming and the smell practically begged her to eat it, even though she knew it wasn't hers. The last time she ate was… she couldn't remember.

_"You want this?" Jzchar laughed, holding a bowl out to her through the bars of her cell mockingly._

_He dropped the bowl of clear broth to the ground. In seemed to move in slow motion as it fell, spilling its entire contents across the dirt floor as it rolled on its side to rest near Rey. The dry earth swallowed the liquid in mere moments as Rey watched from a dark corner._

_"You should have considered that before refusing to do the one thing that keeps you alive."_

_She coughed, and the taste of blood filled her mouth again. Rey had seen slaves cough up blood before, and she knew death almost always came for them not long after. Emboldened by the thought she grabbed the wooden bowl and hurled it back at Jzchar. It clattered off the bars, not even close to striking the monster._

_The creature chuckled at her rebelliousness._

_"That just cost you your last meal, little Rey."_

The memory served as a cruel reminder that she could survive hunger but not a beating. Jzchar was half the size of Kylo Ren, and he had nearly killed her. She couldn't imagine what someone as massive as Kylo could do to her if she displeased him.

* * *

On the other side of the ship, Kylo Ren trained. His Knights were stationed around the galaxy, so he was left with old training droids. They were pathetic.

Once again, the Resistance pilot had evaded capture. He and his droid had the map to Skywalker. If they reached the Resistance before Ren could find them, it would be too late. Fueled by his failure, he swung his red saber in a wide arc and leaving smoking droid parts scattered across the ground. The weapon was growing more unstable by the second and would require adjustment soon.

General Hux observed him silently from outside the room, waiting for this little episode to be done; the Supreme Leader was waiting for them. Finally, when the last training droid lay in a pile of irreparable scrap metal, the masked Ren turned to stare at Hux through the window. He powered down his saber and left the mess to be cleaned up by someone else.

"I hear you brought a girl onto the ship."

"I don't believe that is any of your concern, General."

"The Supreme Leader will be interested to hear about it."

"The Supreme Leader ordered me to purchase her."

That finally shut General Hux up, and they entered Snoke's throne room in silence. The leader of the First Order sat in his throne and beckoned them to approach.

"I will be leaving to oversee the development of a new fleet and the training of Captain Phasma's new class of Stormtroopers. In my absence, the two of you will be in command."

"Supreme Leader, perhaps one of us should take your place?" Hux asked slyly. "I am certain Kylo Ren would be excellent-"

"How kind of you to volunteer my young apprentice, General Hux," Snoke interrupted. "Unfortunately, I cannot send either of you. This mission is too important and the two of you too foolish."

Hux sneered at that, and Kylo's fist tightened.

"Kylo Ren, I hear your mission was a success."

"Yes, Supreme Leader."

"Well done. I expect to see her upon my return."

"Of course," Kylo nodded stiffly.

"And the map?"

Kylo's silence told Snoke all he needed to know.

"How disappointing. I expect you to find their pilot soon, else there will be consequences," Snoke paused to allow the threat to settle in Ren's mind. "I will be in contact while I am gone. Dismissed."

The two men nodded and left the room. The moment they were out of Snoke's earshot, Hux sneered and turned to Ren.

"Enjoy your sex slave… master."

The last word was spat mockingly, and Kylo whirled around, arm outstretched. Hux flew back and smashed against a door, suspended in the air as Kylo used the Force to choke the utterly useless and incompetent man.

"I'll be training if you need anything, General."

Kylo spat out General in the same mocking tone Hux had used a moment ago and stalked away leaving Hux on the ground gasping for air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so short! I'm sorry. More is coming soon.
> 
> Happy May the 4th, and please leave a comment and or Kudos! They make my whole day!


	4. Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You can't read."
> 
> It was a statement, more than a question. Rey stared up at him with wide eyes but said nothing. Kylo gritted his teeth and turned away to type into a datapad with short, stiff movements, and after a moment he slammed that onto the table too.
> 
> "Sit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick PSA to the Hux stans, I also love him and think he's a really amazing character, but for the sake of this story, he's going to be literally awful. I'm so sorry, please forgive me for how I'm about to write this man.

"Say that to me again, but this time look me in the eye!" Kylo Ren screamed.

His face reddened with anger as he shouted at the man.

"A- a-"

The man being yelled at was a low-ranking officer who had been given the unfortunate responsibility of sharing the newest First Order intelligence reports with Ren.

"It sounded like you said a defected Stormtrooper helped the Resistance pilot and his droid escape with the map. The map that is the last thing we need to completely crush the Resistance!" Kylo continued shouting, then he spoke in a deadly quiet voice. "Which trooper was it?"

"FN-2187, s-sir."

The name meant absolutely nothing to him, but it enraged him further all the same. If General Hux had been here, Ren would have crushed him, but unfortunately, this man wasn't Hux.

"Get out of my sight!"

The officer scurried away quickly, practically running, knowing he was lucky to leave the encounter in one piece.

Kylo drew his saber and slashed the red blade across the wall where the officer had been standing moments before. It melted the metal panels, sending up showers of sparks. Every moment of this day had been hell. Hux's insufferable mocking, Snoke's disappointment in him, the escaped pilot, and now one of the First Order's own soldiers had rebelled.

He struck the wall over and over again, imaging it was Hux, Snoke, the pilot, FN-2187, himself until finally the panels were gutted. Still stewing in his anger, Kylo powered off the saber and stalked away to his chambers.

* * *

Without a sun or moon, Rey couldn't tell exactly how long she had been left in the room, but she assumed it was just for the day. She sat on her makeshift bed and looked longingly at the food that was now cold and uneaten. Kylo had given her no instructions unless they were written on that paper, but that was impossible. He seemed educated and had to know slaves couldn't read.

For several hours, she'd stared out the window, watching the stars float by. The ship was moving quickly, though she didn't know to where. The knowledge that every moment took her further from Jakku made her feel strange. There was relief, relief that she would never see Jzchar or any of her other horrible former masters, but also a deep and pervasive sadness. Her parents left her on Jakku as a child; that was all she remembered of them. Part of her always hoped they'd come back for her someday, and now if they did return, she wouldn't be there.

It was late that night when Kylo Ren returned in a billowing storm cloud of unconstrained fury. Rey scrambled to her feet and bowed her head the moment the doors slid open. That was the greeting Jzchar had quite literally beaten into her, and until she was told otherwise, she would continue doing it.

Kylo didn't acknowledge her presence, seeming to forget she even existed. The moment the door shut behind him as he hurled his black mask the whole way across the room, making Rey flinch ever so slightly. It smashed into the wall with the loud bang of crashing metal, leaving yet another dent in the paneling. There were a lot of those.

Then, he took a metal cylinder from his belt and slammed that onto the table next to the untouched tray of food. He went still, noticing the tray.

"Is my food not good enough for you?" He snarled.

His hair whipped around his head as he turned on her suddenly as if he only just remembered her presence. Rey went still, keeping her head down as she tried to steady herself. Up until this point, she was lucky to avoid being punished, but it seemed that time was coming to an end.

"I- I thought it was for you, ma- Kylo," she answered quietly.

He stepped closer to her until he was inches away and towering over her much smaller form. She had to resist the instinct to back away, knowing it would only make things worse.

"Did you think to read the note?" He enunciated each word sharper and louder than the last until he was shouting in a voice hoarse from his earlier rampage.

Rey did step back then, tripping over one of her blankets and falling backward into a wall with a resounding thud. She allowed herself to slide to the ground.

"I-"

Her mouth was dry. She couldn't speak, couldn't find the words to explain what had happened when she didn't fully understand what had happened herself.

"Spit it out, girl! What do you want? A four-course meal? Well, this is the best I can offer you. I figured you'd be grateful after the primitive conditions of your filthy planet…" he trailed off.

The anger seemed to dissipate from his large form as realization struck him.

" _Ben Solo! Come sit down!"_

_The young boy ignored his mother, focused entirely on lifting a small rock with his newly learned Force abilities._

_"While that is very impressive, a true Jedi knows how to do more than lift rocks."_

_The rock fell to the ground, forgotten as the boy jumped up with a broad smile that lit up his whole face._

_"Uncle Luke!" He shouted, running at the robed, bearded man and throwing himself at him. "You saw that?"_

_"I certainly did," Luke Skywalker replied smiling and setting Ben back down. "But you should listen to your mother. You'll have to be able to read all kinds of old Jedi texts before I can train you for real."_

_"Books are stupid," he pouted as he begrudgingly sat down next to his mom._

_She rolled her eyes as Luke chuckled._

_"Someday you'll be grateful that we made you learn this. Not everyone is lucky enough to get an education like yours."_

"You can't read."

It was a statement, more than a question. Rey stared up at him with wide eyes but said nothing. Kylo gritted his teeth and turned away to type into a datapad with short, stiff movements, and after a moment he slammed that onto the table too.

"Sit."

He motioned to a chair and sat in another himself. Rey pulled herself into the seat across the desk from him. The fall hadn't helped her healing body to feel any better, and she blinked away a few tears. Never let a master see you cry… they may decide they like it.

After several long minutes of sitting in silence while Kylo fiddled with the hilt of his lightsaber, a droid opened the door and wheeled in two trays of fresh, steaming food. It set them on the table and left with the now cold tray. The note remained, its presence reminding Rey of all the things she didn't have, the basic skills slaves were denied.

Silently, Kylo slid a tray across the table to her and took the other for himself. To him, it was a simple meal, nothing special, flashy, or outrageous. To Rey, it was something else

Now that she knew she could eat it, the hungry girl could only stare at the contents— a piece of bread without a hint of mold, water clear enough to see through and cold enough that little beads of perspiration ran down the outside of the glass, a bowl of soup with real food instead of just warm brown water. There was some sort of meat in the bowl, and it didn't even smell half-spoiled.

She could count on one hand the number of times she was allowed to eat food hot enough it steamed. Most of the slave's food was a lukewarm temperature. Sometimes it made them sick.

Kylo noticed immediately how she looked at it, her eyes wandering back and forth taking in everything. She inhaled deeply through her nose as if the smell alone could sustain her. He wondered if she knew how desperate she looked gazing at the meal. She reached for the spoon, then hesitated, a resigned look falling over her face.

"Eat," Kylo ordered through a mouthful of food, noticing the hesitation.

_Rey's stomach was tight and cramping as she heaved, emptying the contents of her stomach into the sand. She'd only eaten real meals a few times in the last few months, and the feast set out for her had been too tempting, too rich. It burned her throat coming back up._

_"I hope that taught you to never eat at your master's table."_

"I can't," Rey murmured.

"Why?"

She glanced up, and their eyes met. Rey lowered her gaze instantly, looking back down at the small feast still begging to be eaten.

"Why?" Kylo repeated, biting into his own bread.

"It's not my place to eat with my… master," she whispered the last word, the one Kylo didn't seem to like, not knowing how else to refer to him.

He sat back in the chair with his arms crossed. Struck again by a feeling of compassion, he spoke uncharacteristically gently.

"You have nothing to fear from eating with me."

Something told Rey she could believe him, something that didn't totally make sense but changed her mind, nonetheless. It was the same feeling that made her believe Kylo when he had assured her she wouldn't be his bed-slave. Tentatively, she tore off a piece of bread and soaked it in the warm liquid. Then, Rey took her first bite of the food and shut her eyes, relishing the taste and warmth.

"When did you last eat?"

"I don't know."

For some reason, the words struck Kylo, and again the pull from the Light seemed to grow for a moment before fading quickly.

"Eat slowly or you'll just throw it up later."

* * *

Kylo Ren hadn't seen this woman in years, and yet without even looking at her face, he recognized his mother from the elegant braid twining around the back of her head. She was pouring over a map and piles of papers. After a moment, she paused and turned with surprise written across her features.

"Ben," she breathed with a small smile. "Look how grown-up you are."

Leia looked much older now than when Kylo had last seen her. Her hair was graying, and the worry lines that she'd always worn proudly were more pronounced.

"Come home, Ben."

She extended a hand to her son.

"There's no place for me with you anymore," Kylo growled.

"I will always have a place for you. That's what mothers do."

Kylo stared at her but didn't take her hand. Words were failing him, and all he could do was lash out as he had done so many times before.

"You're not here. You're never here. This isn't real!" He screamed.

Sadness filled the woman's eyes as she watched her only son fall to his knees, trembling with rage and a loneliness he would never confess to having. He was so grown up, and yet somehow still so young.

"This isn't real," he whispered. "You're not real. You can't be. This isn't happening."

Kylo jolted awake to the loud beeping that signaled someone was trying to enter his chambers. He was sweaty and shaking, his hair plastered to his damp forehead and his eyes swimming. The beeping continued relentlessly, forcing the man out of bed to see who was at the door. Whoever it was better have a good reason to be waking him at the ungodly hour.

Of course, it was General Hux who was pressing the panel repeatedly. Kylo opened the door and glowered at the man. He was dressed in his uniform, a stark contrast to Ren's loose black sweater, messy hair, black pants, and bare feet.

"Ren," Hux greeted shortly. "My men have located the pilot and the droid."

"Then send a squad of Stormtroopers to recover them," Kylo rasped in a voice thick with sleep. "I'm not leaving and putting you in charge of the fleet."

Hux peered over his shoulder and smirked.

"My, my, my, she is pretty, isn't she?"

Kylo knew he was talking about Rey. When he looked back, she was sitting up and watching the two men. The bright hallway light illuminated her small figure. Some small bruises dotted her face, and the large cut above her eye was still healing, but Hux was right, Rey was very pretty. He positioned his massive body to block the man's view of her; Hux's reputation with women was well known.

"Will that be all General Hux?" He asked shortly.

"Not the sharing type, Ren? Just a peek?"

Rey could hear their conversation, and she wrapped a blanket around herself tightly in an attempt to preserve some small sense of safety. She should have just ignored her master's nightmare and pretended to be asleep.

"She's just a slave," the red-haired man chuckled. "If you get to fuck her, maybe the rest of us should too."

Rey swallowed hard and tucked herself in smaller. She flinched as the door slammed, shutting the man that Kylo called General Hux outside. Kylo turned to her, but this time he didn't seem angry, at least not at her.

"Don't ever let that man in here. Do you understand?"

Rey nodded slowly, relaxing a little bit. Kylo watched her, the memories of his mother fresh in his mind, wondering, not for the first time, what she would think if she saw him now. What would Leia say if she knew he owned a slave, the very thing she had been once for a few terrible days?

Kylo sat on his bed and looked at Rey sitting in the dark wrapped in her blanket.

"Do you want to learn to read?"

"Yes," Rey answered honestly but cautiously, wondering if this was some sort of trap.

"Good," Kylo flicked on a light and moved to the desk where the pair had shared a meal only a few hours ago.

Even though it was early, he could tell neither of them would be sleeping after Hux's disturbance. Besides, he had no desire to see the dream version of Leia Organa again. Kylo held out the note he wrote yesterday.

"This is your first lesson."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... was it worth the wait? Everything is going to start picking up in the next few chapters, so I hope you're prepared. I know I'm not. I'm feeling this story to be 11 or 12 chapters, plus a sequel if I have the time.
> 
> Rise of Skywalker will be updated in a few days if you're following that story, and if you aren't it comes highly recommended from me, the author of it who definitely has no bias whatsoever.
> 
> Please leave a Comment or Kudos; I read and love them all so much! 
> 
> And one last note, I recently watched Blackkklansman (which is amazing for a million reasons besides Adam Driver I should mention) and am fascinated by Flip Zimmerman, obviously. If any of you share that love, I'm writing a Flip x reader fic for my Tumblr, so be sure to follow (aurora521). There will be smut.


	5. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why are you so scared of me? Have I hit you? Forced you into my bed? Starved you?" His voice raised slightly, and a muscle under his eye twitched.
> 
> "No," Rey looked down and collected her thoughts. "But you could… if you wanted. You could."
> 
> Each word was softer. She hugged the pile of clothes to her chest.
> 
> "Well I won't," he snapped, then spoke more gently. "I know you don't believe me, but I won't."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to me for taking 11 days to write this chapter... oof. My bad. Enjoy though! I am trying to get my chapters, in general, to be a little longer.

Days passed. For Kylo Ren, those days were full of barking orders and running missions. For Rey, the days were time to heal, think, and practice. She learned to write her name quickly, so quickly it surprised Kylo. In fact, she already could write the entire alphabet and recognize the shape of letters on a page. Her developing skillset only covered one language, but it was an impressive improvement, nonetheless. It wasn't as if she had anything else to do besides sit in Kylo's room writing meaningless letter patterns and trying to read a book well beyond her minimal abilities.

She'd started eating regularly too, only in small amounts, but at least she consumed the meals without obvious trepidation. Her gaunt, bony figure had become fractionally fuller and her face displayed a healthier glow.

Kylo still scared her, that much was abundantly clear from the nervousness that fell over her the moment he entered the room. There were moments, moments when she didn't yet realize he was there where she was different. She moved without hesitation, and her face expressed her every thought, her carefully structured mask of submission removed if only for an instant.

Supreme Leader Snoke wanted him to make this girl submit to him, cater to his every desire… and he meant every desire. He wanted her to be crushed by him until only a husk of a person remained. And yet, Kylo Ren felt uneasy at even the thought of making Rey uncomfortable, let alone striking her. It didn't make sense; he had killed people before without hesitation, yet this girl was somehow different.

He was lucky that his Supreme Leader left when he did. Snoke wouldn't return for weeks, but Kylo was already fearful of his inevitable demand to see Rey.

"Lord Ren?"

A worried voice interrupted his thoughts. Kylo turned his masked head toward the First Order Officer. He found his black mask inspired the most fear amongst his inferiors.

"Sir, the Resistance soldier has evaded capture again. Several of our hired Bounty Hunters are still tracking him-"

"Do we not have the best ships money can buy?" Kylo hissed, his voice echoing in the mask.

This was not the update he had wanted. This was a failure.

"Yes sir."

"And the best weapons?"

Across the room, the man looked down and nodded, his uncomfortable energy filling the space as Ren's voice grew louder. It was well known amongst the First Order that failure was always met with a harsh punishment from the young Sith. Not today. This man's emotions reminded Kylo of Rey's, of her fear and how even after days she could only speak his name after first repressing a seemingly innate urge to call him Master. He hated that word.

"Fail me again, and there will be consequences. Find them!" Kylo shouted, sweeping out of the room.

He could feel it and this rare moment of what might be considered kindness reflected it… the Light struggling to bring him back to the people he once called his family. His teeth gritted together. Only one member of his family truly mattered, he reminded himself. There was only one relative whose approval he sought, who meant anything to him… Darth Vader, and his grandfather would remind him of the power of the Dark Side.

* * *

When Rey woke up, Kylo was gone. He usually was, only returning later at night to coach her through a few words before they both went to sleep. Then he dreamed. She would never tell him that sometimes she awoke at all hours of the night to him thrashing about, often muttering incoherent words in his sleep. She wondered what could possibly make a man as large and powerful as Kylo Ren suffer from the same type of sleep terrors she often fell victim to herself. Unlike him, Rey had learned to remain silent; even asleep the fear of punishment was paralyzing, silencing.

Her new master had yet to punish her, but she dared not hope he was really different. Kylo wouldn't be the first man to feign kindness for a short time. Rey refused to fall victim to that ruse again so, she remained closed off, obedient, cautious, hoping the first strike never came, but knowing deep down that only a fool would cling to such a naïve belief.

She spent this day the same way she spent the last five, sitting at the desk, writing her name or the alphabet over and over, and trying to puzzle out the words contained in a large leather-bound text. After several hours of that, just after finishing the midday meal delivered by a small kitchen droid, she went to the 'fresher to clean up. Kylo told it was hers to use, and she had enjoyed the warm spray the first time, how it relaxed her aching muscles.

Rey noted the remaining bruises and cuts on her body, how quickly they healed when she actually got medical attention and ate a healthy amount. Did she dare hope that someday soon she would see her body without a fresh wound or blossoming bruise? With that though she wrapped a towel around herself as she exited, before she realized she had no fresh clothes.

Knowing her Master wouldn't be returning until after dinner was delivered, as was his routine, she walked out. The cold air hitting her body like a wall of ice, making her shiver while she wondered where to get clothes and if she could rummage through Kylo's things.

"Bottom drawer."

She froze at the now familiar voice, turning her head to see Kylo sitting at his desk flipping through the book she tried to puzzle out that morning. He looked at her and pointed behind to the drawer.

"I'm sorry," Rey said as she clutched the towel a little tighter. "I didn't realize you would be here."

"In my room?" Kylo asked dryly, tilting his head ever so slightly.

Rey just stared, frozen in place as the man stood and walked over to her slowly. He could already feel her discomfort and tried to approach in a nonthreatening manner, something that was difficult given their remarkable disparity in size.

"Can I look at that?" He nodded her shoulder that sported a large bruise.

"You can do whatever you want," Rey answered in a quivering voice, her eyes fixed downward.

She shut her eyes as the dark figure drew closer, flinching when a cold gloved hand pressed against her collarbone where the bruise began. The injury, a mottled blue and black mess stretched across her whole shoulder, down the front and back of her body and down her arm. Kylo had never seen it before. There were other marks too, a few bruises, all nearly healed, and a deep puckered scar in the muscle of her left bicep. Without having to ask, he knew there were even more he couldn't see, that he didn't want to see.

"Rey," he said quietly.

Her eyes flew open at the sound of her own name, not yet fully unaccustomed to hearing it.

"This should be healing faster. I'll have medicine brought for it."

"Why?" The question flew from her lips before she could stop it, and she covered her mouth with a hand.

_"The more you bring me, the more you get to eat. Bring me nothing, get nothing."_

_"Yes, sir," a chorus of young voices replied._

_Rey couldn't be more than nine or ten and was dwarfed by the large ugly blob-like creature that recently purchased her and a group of other children._

_"What if we don't find anything to bring?" The young Rey asked, genuinely curious._

_The thing turned and squinted down at her. A few other kids shushed her nervously._

_"You'll get nothing," it growled as if the answer should be obvious._

_"Why?"_

_"Shut up!" The boy beside her whispered._

_"Because I own you!" The creature practically shouted, grasping the front of her shirt and lifting her into the air with ease to look her full in the face. "I own you, and I make whatever rules I want… and for the next week, no rations for you."_

_The little girl was completely still, panicking, shaking ever so slightly, but unmoving. Her owner threw her to the ground and looked around the group of tearful, wide-eyed slave children._

_"Let that be a lesson. Never question the orders of the one who owns you."_

"What do you mean why?" Kylo asked as he moved to the dresser and pulled out another sweater and pair of pants and handed them to her.

"Never mind. I shouldn't have-"

"Why are you so scared of me? Have I hit you? Forced you into my bed? Starved you?" His voice raised slightly, and a muscle under his eye twitched.

"No," Rey looked down and collected her thoughts. "But you could… if you wanted. You could."

Each word was softer. She hugged the pile of clothes to her chest.

"Well I won't," he snapped, then spoke more gently. "I know you don't believe me, but I won't."

"I don't understand. Why? Why buy me? Why am I here?" Rey whispered back, and though her words were quiet, the tone bordered on hysterical.

"Go get dressed," Kylo dismissed her, not answering the question.

Besides that Snoke ordered it, he didn't really have an answer, he realized as he waited for her to reemerge. When she did, he was still standing in the same spot, gazing out the window at some distant, invisible thing. Rey paused for a moment, but when he didn't so much as glance her way, she spoke up, testing his assertion that he wouldn't harm her in the smallest way she knew how.

"Kylo?"

He turned to her, ripping his eyes away from the stars with a last lingering glance, swearing he could feel something in the Force. It was so small and felt so distant he couldn't be sure.

Rey didn't actually know how to say what she was thinking, how to ask her master for something she needed, or rather wanted. She had never done such a thing.

"I wondered if I could…" she paused for a long moment, then summoned her courage and spit out the last of her words. "Have a band for my hair?"

"That's all?"

For a moment, Rey could swear she saw Kylo's mouth twitch upward. He swept his own hair back with one hand and went to the desk to dig around a drawer Rey hadn't dared to open.

"Here's three for those little buns."

He tossed them onto the desk and sat back down.

"When did you see-"

"The slaver's market on Jakku."

Rey blinked a few times and took them. She combed through her long brown hair with her fingers and began pulling it into the first bun. Kylo was not oblivious to the small grimace on her face when she lifted her right arm, the one with the massive bruise. He tapped away at the datapad, ordering a droid to bring an ointment or shot to treat the injury undoubtedly caused by a dislocated shoulder that was left out of place too long and crudely reset. His shoulder had born the same marks a few times, but they were never as bad.

She twisted the first bun up, then paused to lower the arm and roll it. Kylo tried to focus on the book and ignore her and the tiny gasp of pain that she hid remarkably well. He failed.

"Let me."

He walked around behind Rey and took the other two bands right out of her hand.

"M- Kylo, you don't have to," Rey said quickly.

She didn't know what to make of this and just stood still as he ignored her and began separating layers of her hair. After a second, he stopped and tossed his gloves on the table, not liking how strands of hair stuck to the leather. And Rey simply stood there as he ran his warm hands across her scalp, carefully and gently creating the second bun, then the third just below it. It took a few minutes, but it felt much longer.

"There."

The young woman swallowed hard as he stepped back, missing the touch. No one, certainly no man, and especially no master had touched her in such a kind way, a touch that expected nothing in return and possessed no thinly veiled sexual desire. Though she was loath to even think it, she missed how his warm hands felt, how it calmed her and seemed to fill an emptiness in her that had existed for so long she could forget it was there.

"Thank you," she finally said in a voice no longer quiet and trembling.

"Sit," was the only answer Kylo gave, so she did. "Have you figured this out yet?"

He handed her the note he wrote days ago, now crinkled with a watermark from a sweating glass Rey had set too close to it— she quite enjoyed the little ice cubes that made the water cold. As usual, he pulled his chair next to hers to look over her shoulder.

"'Rey,'" she read, recognizing her own name. "'E-eat this. If y- you… you're, you're?'"

"Yes."

"'You're still h… hun… hun-grie… hungry. If you're still hungry, call for a k- kit…' I know it's kitchen, but I don't know if I'm reading it," she glanced over at Kylo.

"Alright," he seemed to agree with her assessment, especially since she'd been studying the note for days. "Hold on."

He scribbled a few words on a new piece of paper in a vertical line down the side and slid it to Rey.

"Try those."

"'Rey,'" Rey read. "'K- K, Y? Khu-yulo?'"

"Y's can also sound like I."

"'Ki… Kylo! Kylo R-Ren.' Okay."

Kylo watched the smile light up her face as she read his name before he was struck by the random and unwanted thought that 'Ben Solo' would be easier.

_"Mom! Look what I did!"_

_"And to think that just last week you were complaining about your lessons," Leia laughed at her son who was proudly holding a paper with his name scribbled on it._

_Sure, the S in 'Solo' was on its side, and the e in 'Ben' was somehow backward and upside down, but he was a natural. Thank heavens Ben inherited her intelligence instead of his fathers, she thought._

_"How do I spell yours?" Ben asked, grinning broadly and holding his marker over the paper, ready to attack it with his mother's name._

_"It's tricky, are you sure you're ready?" She asked, glancing between Ben and the screen where she was studying a map of some sort._

_"Yes! I'm gonna be smarter than you!"_

_"We'll have to see about that one, kid," Han laughed scruffing his son's hair from behind._

_"Dad!" Ben turned and hugged his father's legs tightly. "You're back! Where's Chee?"_

_Han rolled his eyes at how quickly he was dismissed for Ben's real favorite family member. Chewbacca warbled and Ben peeked around Han's legs looking for the Wookie._

_"Chee!" He screamed, catching sight of him and taking off._

_Han looked at Leia who only shrugged. The boy was fascinated with the Wookie, almost more than he was with his Uncle Luke and his glowing green lightsaber. Ben had decided to nickname the weapon Yoda after learning about the Jedi Master, and Luke was still deciding if he approved of the name or not._

_"Still can't say Chewie, huh?" Han asked, picking up the paper Ben dropped on the ground, forgotten in his haste. "Not bad writing though."_

_"Relative to your monstrous penmanship, perhaps," Leia's smile fell away once Ben was out of earshot. "You were supposed to be back a week ago. I need you here to take care of him when you say you will. I have important things to do, and I can't spend all my time watching our, yes Han,_ our _son."_

_"I-"_

_Han was interrupted by a loud semi-warble from behind them. He glanced back and Leia looked around him with one arched brow._

_"Mom! Dad! I'm a Chee!" Ben called, tossing his head back and warbling again._

_Han looked back at Leia._

_"Our son is a Chee," he said wryly. "Aren't you proud?"_

_"Better that than becoming his grandfather."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... what do you think? I really am struggling to write Kylo as a little bit softer than when we first meet him in TFA but still realistically conflicted and angry and in character generally. But I want to show his softer side with Rey still, so I hope I am getting that across.
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos! I love them so much! And, keep staying safe!!


	6. A Jedi's Weapon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She sat down at the desk, pushed the mask aside, and picked up the metal cylinder. It was large in her small hand with exposed wires and a metal crossguard. She unscrewed a metal covering. Deep in the wiring glowed a red stone that Rey assumed was the power source. She couldn't describe exactly what it was, but somehow, she recognized the stone's energy was completely unconstrained, chaotic, and beyond even Kylo Ren's control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! Like I mentioned in The Rise of Solo update, I took a little mental health break that stretched on longer than I would have liked. Your comments are so appreciated, and I've definitely tried to take some suggestions into consideration like ratcheting up Kylo's internal conflict. So thank you so much! And, thanks for sticking with me and this story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Rey woke up the way a person dunked in ice water wakes up, with a rush of adrenaline coursing through her body jolting her awake so fast it was as if she had never slept. Her dream was forgotten the moment her eyes opened, but it's insidious nature and terrifying aura was not so easily banished.

Kylo slept in his own bed across the room, breathing deeply but shifting fitfully in his sleep every so often. That meant it was night and there was nothing to do but try to sleep, something she found was quite impossible. The dark and foggy memory played on the edge of her consciousness just out of reach. Any of her experiences in the last two years could merit a nightmare. In fact, almost everything from her entire life could, but it was the last few years when she was a slave to Jzchar that were the worst to remember and the worst to dream. Those memories could break Rey down into nothing in a moment if she gave them more than a passing thought.

Sometimes, she pretended she had seen those things happen to other people, watching a brown-haired girl be tied down instead of remembering how the ropes felt tightening around her own wrists until she couldn't feel her hands or seeing a sobbing woman stripped bare in a room of lecherous monsters instead of feeling the hands ripping the clothes off her own body and hot tears coursing down her cheeks.

Those thoughts circled through her mind over and over for hours that night, but she kept her tears silent so as not to disturb her Master. For the briefest second, there was something else that could only be described as good, and Rey clung to that memory. It was from the last weeks with Kylo Ren, a man who confused her to no end. A Master who wasn't cruel, who could even, at times, be called kind. Thinking of him and his old books and warm shower was like a tiny star, bright against a lifetime of inky black horrors.

Rey's mind darted every which way, preventing her from falling back asleep, so when a few hours later Kylo rose from his own slumber, she was still staring at the wall lost in her own mind.

Kylo knew she was awake the instant he woke but pretended not to notice her tumultuous thoughts; he had enough of those himself. Once again, his dreams had been invaded by thoughts of his- of Han Solo and Leia Organa. They were his weakness. He had to trust in the power of the Dark Side and remember the feeble nature of the people he once called his family… the cowardice in Luke Skywalker. He would not allow this girl to distract him from what he needed, the revenge he so desperately craved.

So, he ignored her as he often did, donning his customary black attire and exiting the room without so much as a glance at her huddled form. It was difficult to leave, more than he would like to admit. Part of him wanted to stay, guide her reading, help her write new words, find out about her past, and investigate the unexplainable draw he felt towards her, but he couldn't. Snoke expected him to lead without mercy in his absence. That is what he must do.

Kylo Ren is a Dark name, a Sith name, he reminded himself, and the Sith are not weak.

* * *

Electric red light shone off the shiny black mask adorning Kylo Ren's face as he held his lightsaber. He sensed its instability growing once again even as his own internal conflict swelled. Each strike jarred the fractured crystal ever so slightly until once again the lightsaber was poised on the edge of self-destruction. The weapon reflected its owner well.

Only when Kylo felt his lightsaber could really take no more did he power it down. If it exploded, it could kill him, and it wouldn't do to leave General Hux in charge of the ship. General Hux who couldn't even hunt down one man and a droid successfully, always one step behind the Resistance pilot who had escaped once again. It had crossed his mind more than once that Hux might be failing purposely in order to make Kylo look bad and see him punished for a failure that wasn't even his.

For the hundredth time, Kylo cursed his weapon, hating that his weakness prevented him from properly bleeding the Kyber crystal. He was furious, rage boiling under his skin making him sweat as he stalked back to his chambers.

The day had been long and Hux as impetuous as ever. Annoyingly, his thoughts had drifted to Rey occasionally, distracting him. That only angered him further. It wasn't directed at her, but at Snoke for demanding something of him that he simply couldn't deliver. Snoke would want to see her beaten, abused, cowering, fearful, and anything but human, but even thinking of raising a hand to Rey, who had done nothing to him besides add to the already tumultuous conflict brewing in his soul, conjured images of his mother's face. Leia would be disappointed. Han too.

Trying to bury thoughts of his parents deep in the recesses of his mind where the last remains of Ben Solo lived, Kylo stormed through his door, startling Rey who was tucked into a corner with a large book open on her knees, a book of ancient Jedi and Sith legends and teachings.

Rey barely understood a thing the text said. She could read most of the words, but some she had never seen to even guess what they might be. A few were familiar, phrases and names she hadn't heard since her childhood… if she was reading them right.

" _Her name was Princess Leia Organa. She was known as the Princess of Alderaan to many, but not for long. One day she set out on a perilous mission. The Empire, led by the evil Emperor Palpatine and his minion Darth Vader, destroyed her planet and so she embarked on an adventure to save the Galaxy with her Jedi brother Luke Skywalker, the stupidly brave Smuggler Han Solo, and his loyal sidekick, Chewbacca, a Wookie."_

_"What's a Jedi?" The young Rey interrupted, looking up at the slave woman telling the story._

_"A Jedi is a sort of magical being," she explained in a mystical, airy voice. "They can move stones… with their mind. They carry swords made from light and can read minds."_

_"Are they evil?" Rey asked with wide eyes, imagining a man with a sword made from the sun hurling stones without so much as raising a finger._

_"No, darling. The Sith are the evil ones, that's what the Emperor and Darth Vader were, but the Jedi follow the Light and use something called the Force for good."_

Kylo's abrupt and dark entrance into the room wrenched her from the memory, and she glanced back down at the page, wondering if the word spelled "J," "E," "D," I" was Jedi. It had taken two weeks, but Rey finally learned not to jump up the moment he entered the room. She found he preferred when they ignored each other until working on her reading and writing, skills she progressed at quickly. There was really nothing else for her to do besides practice, and at times it even felt like she was simply relearning something she used to know.

Rey's curiosity about the book didn't stop her from listening to Kylo mutter to himself. She watched out the corner of her eye as he tugged the now-familiar helmet off and thumped it onto the table with an echoing bang that made her heart race for a moment. The metal cylinder that accompanied him wherever he went joined the mask.

"Never fucking works!" he snarled as he slammed it down.

Though his voice was quiet, his emotions were palpable… frustration, raw anger, disappointment. Without so much as a glance her way, he entered the 'fresher room and banged the door shut behind him. Rey glanced at the metal cylinder then at the book, flipping through the pages until she found a drawing similar to the thing Kylo carried. It was one of those light swords.

Kylo Ren was a Sith, she had decided a few days ago. He seemed to read her thoughts sometimes, and he carried the sword hilt. Rey had even seen him use what she assumed was the Force to summon things right to his hands. At first, she had thought he might be a Jedi. He was kind, at least relative to her other Masters, but then she wasn't really sure what actual kindness was. But this was a First Order ship, she had discovered, and it was no secret that the First Order was evil.

Rey glanced at the hilt again. She had worked in a scavenging shop for years, all through her teen years. It was her last placement before Jzchar bought her, and she had been good with repairs. The machines made sense to her, and her natural talent with fixing them had made her a valuable slave. It hadn't stopped the beatings, but it lessened them enough to be survivable. Had Jzchar not strolled in one day and caught sight of her, she might be scavenging still, but the price Jzchar offered for her was more valuable than even her mechanical skills.

Having done nothing but read and write for weeks, Rey was itching to do anything else, and perhaps Kylo's sour mood would go away if she could fix his light sword for good. He had a shelf of tools, and if it was only a matter of replacing and rewiring, well, Rey could do that in her sleep. Kylo hadn't asked that of her, but he hadn't told her not to either. The man hadn't so much as raised his voice at her since her arrival two weeks ago, and even in that short amount of time, she had begun to feel bolder than she had in ages.

So, she sat down at the desk, pushed the mask aside, and picked up the metal cylinder. It was large in her small hand with exposed wires and a metal crossguard. She unscrewed a metal covering. Deep in the wiring glowed a red stone that Rey assumed was the power source. She couldn't describe exactly what it was, but somehow, she recognized the stone's energy was completely unconstrained, chaotic, and beyond even Kylo Ren's control. The wires surrounding it were melded together, and though replacing them wouldn't solve the problem entirely, it would serve as a temporary fix.

Kylo must do this often, Rey decided, finding some new wires on his tool shelf and carefully snipping, removing, attaching, twisting. She fiddled with another strip of metal inside that had been blackened by heat, loosening a tiny screw, cleaning all around it. The process was more instinctual than anything; she did whatever felt right as if some invisible force guided her movements, and finally reattached the covering. She was tightening the last screw down when Kylo emerged from the 'fresher.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Rey let the metal clatter to the table, whirling around to look at the owner of the voice. Kylo stalked toward her, a dark look passing over his face while his wet hair dripped water down his black sweater and across the floor. He was a large man, and his size coupled with the darkness swirling around him made Rey stand and step back, wanting to be as far away from her Master as possible.

Just as the young woman had feared, she had become too comfortable and overstepped the unspoken boundaries, broken Kylo's unwritten rules. Her fear was numbing, and she felt like her mind was still catching up to just how badly she screwed up.

"Do not ever put a hand on this again!" Kylo snarled, his voice growing louder with each word, making her heart beat faster as he snatched up the hilt. "Do you understand?"

Rey swallowed hard, trying to answer through her dry mouth, but unable to form the words. She couldn't think straight enough to nod, only stare.

"Do you understand!?" He turned toward her, eyes alight with rage like she had never seen.

"Y-yes," Rey finally managed to choke out, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

She wanted to apologize, beg forgiveness, anything to lessen whatever punishment Kylo has for her, but the adrenaline coursing through her body was paralyzing. Her mouth moved, but no words came out. Her eyes burned. She didn't know what she was thinking, touching something that was obviously valuable to her Master without even thinking to ask permission.

Any kindness he showed in that past weeks, even his indifference, was undoubtedly spent now.

Without another word, Kylo swept up his mask, cowl, and lightsaber, and took his storm cloud of fury from the room.

Tears built in her eyes until finally, they spilled over her cheeks for the first time in days. She almost felt safe a few short minutes ago, lulled into a sense of security that had led to this. She could hear his voice, calm and reassuring that he would never strike her, never take her to his bed, but that was before when she did what he wanted. Maybe nothing would change, and all would be forgiven in an instant, but more likely everything would be different now.

Rey sat on her makeshift bed, wrapping one blanket as tightly around herself as she could to stave off the chill of the room. She leaned her head back against the wall, looking at the white ceiling with wide, teary eyes. All she could do was wait and hope she survived.

And then the thought she often had and tried to ignore surfaced again… what in her life was worth living for?

* * *

Kylo didn't know what Rey could possibly have been thinking, playing with a weapon that could slice her in two with one wrong move. He doubted she knew the power it contained and was only curious, but she could have done untold damage to herself and the crystal. Kyber crystals were not easy to come by, and there was little in this world that was more important to Kylo Ren than his saber.

He settled in at a desk in the engineering bay, ignoring the curious looks of First Order officers milling about wondering what inspired their leader to join them. He opened the hilt up, squinting as he looked at the new wiring. It seemed as if Rey had tried to fix it.

It made sense, the more he thought about it. At some point during her many years as a slave on Jakku, she had likely encountered a mechanic shop or even scavengers who had their own set of repair skills.

With only the slightest hesitation, he powered on the weapon, wondering how someone who wasn't even Force-sensitive could possibly fix a lightsaber and worried she only made it worse.

The glowing red blade still shot out of the crossguard, setting everyone in the room on edge the moment it ignited. Kylo blinked, ignoring the growing tension in the room. Rey had fixed it, as much as a lightsaber powered by a fractured crystal could be fixed. The crackling energy was calmer, the blade less jagged and more controlled, the feel of it more balanced. It was as good a repair job as he had ever done… better perhaps. A niggling feeling in the back of his mind that had been present since the day he first met Rey flared up again.

A girl from Jakku, a nobody from nowhere… it was impossible.

The image of her wide eyes flashed in his mind. It was a look he put there with his words and aggression. Snoke would be proud and want him to go further, but the more Kylo remembered, the more he didn't believe he could.

He had watched the excitement fade from Rey's vulnerable brown eyes, suffocated by fear as something good and helpful that she tried to do, to do for him, failed. Her face flushed and lips trembling as she cried not to cry. Kylo's actions had taken a brief moment of joy from her life. He hadn't even hesitated, immediately assuming she just being a stupid girl. He had treated Rey like his slave, and he hated himself for it.

Even now, she was undoubtedly still shaken. He knew how it felt to come to trust someone only to have it stripped away with one wrong move that altered the course of one's life forever. His mother would tell him to apologize, his father would tell him to make a grand gesture, and Snoke… Snoke would want him to make her hurt. Take his anger that she would dare lay a hand on his things and channel at her, use it to summon Force lightning for the first time, something his own Master used on him generously.

As if summoned by Kylo's thoughts, Snoke's voice seeped into his mind the same way it had ever since Kylo was a young Ben Solo. There were no words, but the summons was clear and impossible to ignore. Kylo would have no time to return to his room; his Master demanded his presence now, and Kylo always obeyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated. I'm really excited to get to the next chapter, as I'm sure you are too since this is kind of a cliff hanger. Part of me does feel like I'm rushing the story a bit which I don't want to do too much, but I also (unfortunately) don't have a ton of time to make this a really slow-burn. I want to find a balance where the plot moves along, but the character development isn't happening too fast to make sense, so let me know if you think it's too fast (or too slow).
> 
> Stay safe, and check back later this week for updates.


	7. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second time he murmured her name, her eyes snapped open. Even in the dim light, he could see that they were empty. Rey wasn't really looking at him but through him, like he was someone else entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just bad at updating... It's all coming though. Huge shoutout to all my reviewers! I keep rereading the reviews for motivation, and they literally make me so happy!
> 
> WARNING: I know I said no warnings, but this chapter is kinda dark and has scenes of rape and violence. They are a little graphic and clearly hint at what is happening and are potentially triggering. That is all in the italicized flashback part of the chapter. Please just be careful. I wouldn't include that content unnecessarily, but feel free to skip the italics since I think the chapter can work without those scenes if it is a sensitive topic for you.

"You are weak, Kylo Ren," Snoke hissed to the man kneeling before him. "I thought having this slave would strengthen your resolve, but instead it only seems to have split your soul."

Kylo was silent, trying to clear his mind of emotion as his master shifted through his thoughts. He was unsuccessful. Thoughts of the girl he left behind flickered like small lights on an otherwise black night, and Snoke could see every single one.

"You are hardly worthy of your name, let alone of my training and time. You disappoint me… and your grandfather, Vader."

Kylo inhaled sharply, the words stinging as he realized the truth of the words. He was failing his grandfather. A Sith had no place for kindness, not toward someone who was so much less than them. And yet that knowledge failed to strengthen his resolve in the Dark Side to make him want to harm Rey in any way. Instead, it served only to increase the tensions in his already conflicted soul.

"I am sorry, Master," he replied, head bowed to the ground, held down by the force of his shame. "I will do better. With the strength of your training, I will not be seduced."

The Supreme Leader regarded him thoughtfully for a long moment. He knew the conflict in his apprentice, tried to stoke it so that when he finally fell fully to the Dark Side his ruin would be complete. When young Kylo Ren joined the ranks of the Sith, Ben Solo must be utterly obliterated. Anakin Skywalker had lived on in Vader, and it had been his downfall. Snoke would not repeat the Emperor's mistakes.

"In two weeks' time, I will return to the fleet. You have until then to strengthen your resolve in the Dark Side. I will not accept failure from you, my young apprentice. I have not poured countless hours into your training to create a boy who cowers behind a mask."

Kylo nodded tersely and took his leave, recognizing he had been dismissed. Usually, being in his master's presence reminded him of why he had chosen this dark path, the legacy he was realizing. Not today. Today it made him question if there was a different legacy he was meant to fulfill.

* * *

Rey spent the next three days curled up in her corner, waiting for her master to return. With every passing minute, her angst was growing. A persistent gnawing in her stomach made her ache, but then that could also be because she wasn't eating. Even if she could keep it down, the fear that the menacing man had poisoned it as a punishment was overwhelming. It could kill her or worse.

She settled for sipping water from the fresher and sent the glasses brought by the droids back with the untouched food.

And she slept if it could be called that. Her rest was fitful, her instinct for self-preservation yanking her into consciousness at the slightest sound, the barest change in temperature, figments conjured by her imagination. If she did fall deep enough into sleep to dream, they were filled with memories that had until recently been buried so deep in the recesses of her mind that she forgot their existence.

Being Kylo Ren's slave was different. Living on Jakku meant existing in a permanent and suffocating state of fear. Rey had never had time to feel safe, not really. Being constantly on edge and worrying for her life every second had allowed her to form a metaphorical shield around herself, a carefully constructed fortification of safety that she had allowed to fall into disrepair since experiencing Kylo Ren's kindness. And now here she was, a trembling mess who couldn't sleep or eat because somehow Kylo Ren had made it impossible for her to be numb to the world.

_"Tell me something, Rey. What exactly do you think your role is here… in my whore house, what do you think a pretty little piece like you exists to do? Because it isn't fucking clawing at my customers' eyes you stupid bitch!"_

_Rey, with her bloodied face, knelt before Jzchar, her head bowed. Warm blood ran down her face and fell to the floor with soft drops. Her slight body trembled. She hadn't eaten or seen another human in a week. There had only been darkness disturbed by the occasional slit of light that warm and dirty water was passed through._

_Her last master had been terrible, despite their uneasy peace when he realized the value of her natural mechanical skills. But this man was something new entirely, and the things he wanted her to do Rey had only heard of… it was what older slave women whispered warnings about, passing messages through their secret communication channels about which masters wanted bed slaves, who was kind about it, and who wasn't._

_Jzchar didn't want a bed slave for himself though. Rey and the other girls were for his clients who were inclined toward all kinds of unseemly and despicable acts as Rey had just found out. That man hadn't been successful. Rey was nothing if not a fighter, but perhaps not for long._

_"What's your purpose little Rey? I want to hear you say it."_

_When she still didn't answer, Jzchar's heavy boot found her ribs with a resounding crack that left Rey gasping as she keeled over, falling to her side on the wood floor._

_"Make no mistake, girl. You are certainly attractive, but you are not irreplaceable. I have plenty of clients who would enjoy watching the life drain from your pretty eyes."_

_He let those words settle in, and though the threat was simple and maybe an outright lie, it was effective. Rey might be a fighter, but she couldn't fight if she didn't survive. She didn't always know why she wanted to live. There were moments where she had this feeling like there was something more out there, like some sort of force telling her she was meant for more than this. Then again, doesn't every slave think they are meant for more?_

_"I'm… I'm here to be… to be used as you ask," she struggled to form the words, tears filling her eyes as she spoke her new truth into existence. "I'm a bed slave… I- I will do whatever your guests ask of me."_

_"Good girl," Jzchar leaned down to pat her head as if she was a pet, running a hand over her cheek. "Now get into that room, prove you're telling the truth, and then I'll consider allowing you a meal. No more fighting back precious."_

* * *

_Rey laid on the cold ground, her body bared to the world, covered in cuts and bruises and all kinds of unnamable substances. She watched a pair of dark black boots traipse around the room, too exhausted to look up or do more than keep her eyes open. Her hair splayed around her head. The three buns had been pulled loose roughly a long time ago. She ached all over. Even after months of abuse in Jzchar's whorehouse, some clients could still break through her dissociative state and send her spiraling for days._

_The black shoes approached her. One nudged her cheek, turning her head up to look at the man. He smirked down at her, eyes alight with a cruelty that shocked Rey and would continue to do so every time he visited her._

_He knelt down, grabbed her small wrists, and began to wind rope around them with practiced ease. That act sparked Rey's fire, what little embers remained, and she tried to pull away. His grip was too tight and he was too large for her struggle to have any real effect. In moments, she was on her knees with her arms tied tightly above her head, stretching her shoulders uncomfortably as hot tears filled her eyes, mingling with the blood and spit and… and the thing she didn't like to think about._

_"Please no," she whispered to no one in particular._

_She knew what was going to happen. It was one of the things she most dreaded and had been lucky to avoid thus far. The other girls hated it, more than almost anything else. One warned her that this particular client was particularly cruel and rough and that girls often got sick after he was done._

_"What did you say to me?" He wrapped a hand around her throat and squeezed. "I'll do whatever I want to you, you little bitch."_

_"No," Rey whispered, then realized she wasn't speaking._

_She couldn't, so the words only echoed through her head as she knelt there tied up and unable to resist. Anything but this… anything… just not this. Not this._

* * *

Kylo Ren looked down at Rey's sleeping form. She was curled into a tight ball breathing erratically with her blankets fisted tightly in her small hands. She whimpered in her sleep, breathing a soft and defeated 'no' as her body wriggled, almost as if she was fighting someone off her while still trying to protect herself.

Rey had been a bed slave on Jakku, that much Kylo knew. He also knew she had not chosen that life. Any resolve he had found in Snoke's presence dissipated immediately as he watched her fight off some invisible entity. Ignoring the consequences he knew his actions would eventually bring, he knelt next to Rey and touched her shoulder lightly, whispering her name in the softest voice he could manage. This was not what Snoke wanted him to do, but what would Leia say if-

Kylo froze that thought. Who cared what that woman thought of him?

His mask and several layers of clothing had been discarded at the door. It was late. He'd been planning to go straight to sleep, deal with whatever fallout there was with Rey in the morning, but from the moment he stepped foot on his ship he could sense distress emanating from her in waves.

The second time he murmured her name, her eyes snapped open. Even in the dim light, he could see that they were empty. Rey wasn't really looking at him but through him, like he was someone else entirely.

"Please, please no," she whimpered.

"Rey, look at me."

_"Look at me."_

_He slapped her across the face. The sound echoed through the room. Hot blood filled her mouth._

"Rey?"

"Stop! Please!"

She pushed herself back, pressing against the wall to get as far away from him as possible.

_He loomed over her, hand on her throat holding her against the wall until black spots flashed across her vision._

"I- I-"

"It's a nightmare. You're dreaming."

_"You're going to remember this for the rest of your worthless life. You will never, never forget me."_

"Get off!"

She was almost screaming now, voice cracking and breaking as she sobbed.

"Rey."

_"Look at me."_

_"See you next week, little Rey."_

_"If you don't want to, I can always carve you up."_

_Cold metal ran across her cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood as it split her skin ever so slightly, threatening her with its sharpness._

_Her scalp burned as her head was wrenched back. A few strands of her hair pulled loose at the harsh treatment._

"I'd rather die!"

"Wake up, Rey."

"I won't! I won't!"

She shoved Kylo or rather, shoved at Kylo. He could have sworn she never laid a hand on him, but still he found himself falling backward. He caught himself on his hands. It gave Rey the chance to push him again. This time her hands went to his shoulders. Kylo was ready and caught her wrists, holding both of them easily in one of his large hands.

"Rey, look at me. I am not going to hurt you," he repeated in a low tone.

He placed his free hand on her cheek.

The warmth of that contact finally brought her back to the moment, the glassiness over her eyes shattering as she looked down at her hands captured in his and then up at his dark brown eyes and messy hair.

Moments ago, she pushed him. Him, Kylo Ren, her master who was already enraged. She hadn't fixed her last mistake, and now she was doing this. Her mind was still half trapped in racing memories of the countless times her body was violated, how she allowed it to happen just to survive.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I'm so sorry, master, please. I didn't know what I was doing."

_"You didn't mean to? You didn't- you think that makes it better?"_

_The question was never meant to be answered, and the metal that smashed into her skull left her too dazed to formulate any sort of answer._

Kylo released her hands and sat back on his knees while she trembled and drew her body in on itself.

"I'm not angry," he tried to make his tone reassuring.

She didn't hear him. Rey was entirely focused on regaining some type of control over this situation, avoid a beating if possible, and if not try not to get hurt too terribly. In the last years, she learned only one thing could absolutely guarantee her safety.

"Master, I- I made a mistake. Please, let me… let me-" she swallowed hard and looked up.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself for what she was about to do, the thing she had promised herself she would never have to do again. Where was the girl who would rather die than be forced into sex? She wasn't here… not right now.

Rey reached for Kylo, moving her hands to the hem of his dark sweater that matched the one she wore. She swallowed her tears, eyes going blank as she let her mind drift somewhere else. She imagined an island, the same island she always pictured in these moments. Waves battered the sides of a sheer, rocky cliff in places, and in others, they lapped gently at the sand. The place felt like it could be real. Rey wanted to see an island someday, one that looked like the one she escaped to in her mind.

Rey's hands fell against the bare skin of Kylo's stomach, moving to undo his pants when he finally realized what was happening.

He acted quickly, securing her hands in his own again and gently extracting them from under his clothes. Kylo was bewildered about why this girl, who so obviously despised that part of her life even more than anything else, was suddenly coming onto him.

Then he looked down at her, feeling her desperation rolling off her in waves, noting her teary eyes. Rey was a lot like him, trapped in her own mind, trying desperately to stay alive. But her circumstances were far worse. She didn't even have the illusion of control that Kylo Ren experienced as a leader in the First Order. It was no wonder she was trying to find that now even if it was like this.

"I shouldn't have struck you. I shouldn't have touched your things. Master, I am sorry, please… I-"

"Stop."

She went silent immediately, and Kylo found himself unnerved at her unquestioning obedience. Rey looked at the ground between them, trying to summon the ocean waves to no avail. This wasn't a moment her mind wanted to be present for, and is she couldn't get out soon, she would be stuck in real life.

"Rey. I will never bring you into my bed. I will not let you do this, not when you don't want it."

"I do," she lied, without hesitation. "I… I do want to."

She looked up at him, her face a mess. Her eyes were swollen and red, cheeks stained with tears, hair sticking everywhere, and her lips trembled as she fought the urge to cry. Most men didn't like it when she cried.

"No, you don't."

Kylo pushed her hands down to her side and let them go. They knelt in front of each other, her staring up at him to take in the unexpected kindness that lingered on his face, the worry for… for her?

She remembered the feel of his hands winding her hair into the buns, careful not to pull too hard even through tangles, his kind help through difficult words, the freedoms he allowed her… not enough, but better than she had before. He promised not to strike her. He hadn't let her touch him.

Rey didn't think, just pressed her small and trembling form to his chest, tucking her arms in between them as she struggled for breath. She could still feel those hands running all over her body, so different from Kylo's gentle touch which was for an unexplainable reason all she wanted in this moment. His arms came around her, securing her against him firmly but unthreateningly.

Her body relaxed fully into his, and Kylo shifted so she was sitting between his legs that were bent up on either side of her. Rey clutched the soft material of his sweater in her hands, running it between her fingers. The rise and fall of his chest was steady, and soon her own shallow breathing calmed to match his deep, rhythmic breaths.

"I know I must be punished for touching your weapon," Rey whispered into his chest once she readied herself to speak.

"No," the man replied, his voice sounding even lower when Rey's ear was pressed against him. "I won't hurt you, I swear. I- I don't want a slave, Rey. If I could…"

He trailed off, not wanting to speak his forbidden desire to set her free into existence. In fact, until this very moment, he hadn't even acknowledged that such a thought existed. It did, he just couldn't act on it. Snoke would settle for nothing less than her submission even if it took constant abuse, and if needed, even death.

"You did well, with my lightsaber. I'm impressed."

"Th-thank you. You're not… angry?"

"No."

Rey finally sat back and Kylo let his arms fall at his side. She didn't move from where she was seated between his long legs, so he observed up close as confusion and then anger flashed across her face; the latter emotion was only present for a moment before she carefully hid it.

"Say it."

"It's nothing," she whispered, looking down at the ground.

Her stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly, a sound that was accompanied by a hollow ache she was suddenly painfully aware of. Kylo heard it and frowned.

" _You_ are angry."

"No," Rey insisted.

"Don't lie," Kylo snapped.

He regretted it instantly when she shied away from him, sliding back so there was space between them again. She hadn't reacted to him like that since her arrival, but his shouting a few days ago undid any progress they might have made. The trust between them was shattered.

"Rey," he tried to be reassuring but didn't quite know how. "I didn't mean to shout-"

"Well, you did!" She cut him off in a quiet but cold voice. "You told me I was safe, and I let my guard down and believed you. Then suddenly you make me feel anything but safe! Do you know what I've done for the last however many days?"

She stared up at him with defiant eyes, alight with the fire she had on Jakku when she tried to fight him off.

"I haven't eaten, I've barely slept! I can't. I thought you were going to punish me, because when my Master so much as raises their voice at me, it always means something worse is coming. Always! I thought you poisoned the food. I haven't eaten. When I do sleep, I dream up all manner of horrible things you can do to me. I have remembered these things that I buried so deep in my mind that I forgot they were real. Don't tell me you didn't mean to shout. Don't tell me that, Kylo! You did! You screamed at me and then left me here for days. I was scared, I'm still scared… I…"

Rey trailed off, and the fight began to flicker out as she looked at his impassive face and realized who she was nearly shouting at. Her gaze faltered.

"Keep going."

So she did.

"I… I thought you were going to kill me. When you came back, I thought I was dead. And you know what?" Rey drew in a deep breath, preparing to voice the thought that plagued her day and night. "Maybe I should be. What's the point? I'm not really living, Kylo. I am scared every second that you're going to turn on me the way my other seemingly good masters did. They all show their true colors eventually. And even if you don't, I'm still your slave. I don't even own my own body. You could have me right here, right now if you wanted, and I couldn't stop you. I don't want to die, but- but maybe I'd rather be dead than barely surviving."

Kylo could hear Snoke's instructions echo in his head. The orders of his own Master clashed with his desires once again. He would pay for what he was about to do, but that was a concern for when the Supreme Leader returned to the ship. At this moment, he was across the galaxy, but Rey, Rey was right here.

"Rey," he sighed heavily and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Tell me what you want to see."

"What do you mean?"

"When I can set you free, where do you want to go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this was a good chapter, good turning point, lots of development, long. Hope you guys enjoyed it also! Please leave a comment if you have time!
> 
> More updates are coming... I don't know when, but maybe this week. I have a pretty light work schedule for once.
> 
> Stay safe out there!


	8. The Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Images flashed in her head. A monstrous green shadow, a glowing blue blade. Men in masks. A hideous creature with grey skin and a long scar. Lightning striking her. The book slid from her grasp and clattered to the floor, landing open at her feet. The sound jolted her to reality. That wasn't her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm back. This semester was just... wow it was rough. I did get to take a creative writing class, and that was amazing and so much fun! Anyway, you guys are here for the story, so enjoy!

A solid thud awoke Rey the next morning. She was still tired and a bit hungry even after eating with Kylo Ren last night, and her mind was reeling. He was going to set her free. It was what she had dreamt of her entire life, and yet it scared her like nothing else. She liked the feeling, the unknown. This fear, it was something she could embrace.

"Rey?"

She opened her eyes, watching Kylo's dark boots move across the room.

"I know you're awake," he continued. "I brought you some… well some things that need fixing."

He paused for a moment, then seemed to realize what he was suggesting. Rey sat up.

"You don't have to, of course, but I thought it might help you pass the time until… until I find somewhere safe for you."

He was speaking through the mask, looking down at Rey who had one heavy blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The young woman drew him to the light like nothing else, and rather than continue to fight it he had succumbed by agreeing to free her. Snoke would know the moment he returned, if he didn't already, that his plan to force his apprentice into the arms of the Dark Side had failed. The thought boiled in his brain, the rage filling him as he was reminded yet again that he would never live up to his grandfather's legacy.

Rey smiled a little bit, her eyes flicking between him and the pile of mechanical parts on the table. It was a broken engine from an old ship, the type of thing that perhaps Rey, who had been so adept at fixing his saber, would enjoy working on. He nodded curtly to her and left.

In his brief absence, Hux had made a mess of things as usual. While the insufferable man was out searching for the map, he would stay here and clean up whatever disaster had been left for him. Much to his surprise and annoyance, the man was standing on the bridge when he entered.

"General Hux," he growled, voice echoing with a deep metallic twinge. "I thought you were—"

"Looking for him?" Hux replied, a sneer growing on his face as Kylo realized that he had been beaten.

The pilot, the bright red Resistance symbol emblazoned on his jacket, was held between two Stormtroopers, his face bloodied from a battle. Kylo Ren didn't recognize the man personally, but he knew without a doubt, this was his path to Skywalker. Underneath the mask, he smiled. Hux might think he had won, but Kylo was the true victor here. He still wanted Luke Skywalker dead. He would make Snoke proud yet.

* * *

Rey spent the day fixing the engine. It was simple. She'd worked on many an engine on Jakku, and this one was nothing special. In fact, she might have seen this exact model many years ago. She ate the food, not even hesitating for a moment. Kylo Ren was not going to hurt her. The nightmare was coming to an end.

Then she read, the symbols on the page coming easily to her now, as easily as if she'd been doing this her whole life.

Kyber crystals, that's what the pages talked about. From the drawings, she knew that the small rock in Kylo's saber was one such crystal. It had been bled, violently, cracking as he clenched his hand around the stone. So, he had fixed the cross guards, an attempt to stabilize the volatile rock. She reread the last sentence: 'This is a process known by the Sith as bleeding.' Nothing about the crystal in Kylo's saber. She read it again, then reread the paragraph. Nothing.

Images flashed in her head. A monstrous green shadow, a glowing blue blade. Men in masks. A hideous creature with grey skin and a long scar. Lightning striking her. The book slid from her grasp and clattered to the floor, landing open at her feet. The sound jolted her to reality. That wasn't her life. She left the book lying there and stood, pacing.

It wasn't her life, but it was someones. And though in her heart Rey knew the answer, she still found herself asking, who?

* * *

Somewhere far away, General Leia Organa stood staring at a screen where Poe Dameron's X-Wing had flickered off their radar hours before.

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"3P0, I don't know," the General responded with a heavy sigh. "But if it doesn't work now, then I fear it never will."

Something had changed in the Force, a small shift, but with the potential for more. Like the movement of a single stone that one day would cause a landslide. Leia didn't know what it meant or which of the living Force-users had caused it, perhaps one she hadn't even met. She found herself believing, hoping rather, that it was Ben, her son, the man she'd dreamed of a few short weeks ago. Leia had begged her son to come home, even knowing it was only a dream.

_"I will always have a place for you," she had whispered, reaching toward him._

_Ben was so grown up. She should have been there for him._

She looked at Han, the man absorbed in welding some parts of his newly recovered and beloved Millenium Falcon. It was as much a needed project, a distraction from the dangerous mission their best pilot was embarking on.

If a stone had moved, if the Force was shifting ever so slightly toward balance then just maybe her son could get swept up in the movement and come back to her. To them. Han had resurfaced for the first time in years, accompanied by Poe Dameron, a former Stormtrooper, and Poe's BB unit. The Resistance had believed their best pilot dead, but then he strode in, just as cocky as Han Solo with a young Stormtrooper named Finn and the map.

"Just keep trying to decipher that map," Leia sighed. "If Poe fails, Luke is our only hope."

* * *

The days passed, monotonous as ever for Rey and Kylo Ren. Get up, fix something, read. Bark orders, smash droids, bring Rey broken things. Something was changing. He would set her free, but Kylo Ren would resist the draw to the Light; he would be strong… like his grandfather. He never felt less sure of his allegiance to Snoke. He lay in bed, wide awake, listening to Rey breath softly across the room. His mind was consumed with what he could only call fear. He hated feeling afraid.

The moment he returned, Snoke would know Kylo was weak, pathetic, a failure.

The man stood, dressing himself in his dark robes and stalking from the room. He would find Luke Skywalker. The First Order's newest captive might not have given Hux anything, but he knew where the map was located. Nothing would remind Kylo of the Dark like seeking vengeance on his Uncle… no, on Luke. That man was not his family.

Rey watched him leave, woken by his movements and the dim light. He still had nightmares nearly every night, and since he had promised her freedom, Rey had taken to sitting next to his bed while he twitched and whimpered. Then the nightmare would end, and Kylo would go silent, still asleep, while Rey retreated to her makeshift bed and her own sleep. He didn't realize she did that, and it probably made no difference. She did it anyway.

After he left, she drifted back to sleep, comfortable in the blankets. She dreamed of the island. It was green, the type of green she had only heard of and that she now had the faintest hope to see someday. Except, there was a storm over the island in her dream. It had never stormed before. It set her on edge, the way dark clouds rolled in the sky threatening rain with a deep rumbling.

She scaled a small cliff and sat with her legs dangling over the side, looking down at the dark waves splashing below her. Their usual rhythmic motion was enraged. They crashed into the unyielding rocks as if trying to tear them down. Kylo, that's what they reminded her of.

Rey's swinging feet dislodged a rock below her and she watched it roll down the cliff face and splash into the angry ocean. She wanted to wake up, the ground she sat on no longer felt safe, felt steady. This place was supposed to be her place to feel secure, but now it seemed anything but.

The wind whipped her hair, tugging it loose from her trio of buns. A tall wave crashed beneath her, sending her scrambling to her feet as the spray splashed her face, even from this height.

"Rey."

She turned and ran, ran toward the voice calling her name. The ground crumbled beneath her as she tried to move faster, rocks falling into the sea and threatening to drag her with it. Her foot fell into air and she lept, her hands grabbing at the dark stone in front of her-

Rey sat bolt upright.

Across the room, she met the eyes of Kylo Ren.

He looked at her damp face, the loose buns, and moved without thinking.

_"Ben! It's alright, I'm here," Han's voice was soothing as he sat at his son's bedside, running a kind hand through the boy's dark brown hair._

_Ben squirmed under his sheets, a sheen of sweat across his face._

_"Wake up, Ben. You're safe."_

_His dark brown eyes opened, staring up at his father. He drew in a ragged breath._

_"There was a monster."_

_Han smiled at his son and opened his arms. The boy hugged him tightly, tears dampening his father's shirt._

_"I don't like his voice, dad," Ben muttered._

_"It's just a dream, son. Dreams can't hurt you."_

_"I know."_

_What Ben didn't say, couldn't say, was that the voice haunted more than his dreams._

"Rey," he said, kneeling beside her. "You're safe here. I promise."

"I know," she replied, and she meant it.

For the first time, her real-world felt safer than the dreamland. Rey swiped at her face; the skin was damp. Her hair, usually resilient to even the most restless sleeps, was a tangled mess pulled loose from the bands.

Kylo sat on the ground beside her, stretching his long legs out in front of him while she fixed the buns.

"Where did you go?" Rey's voice wavered, part of her still afraid to question anything, but the rest of her knowing she had nothing to fear from Kylo.

To torture a prisoner, Resistance scum. To find my map to vengeance. To prove I am as powerful as Vader. And to fail, at all of it. To stare through a window at a Resistance fighter and do nothing. That's where he had gone.

"Out," was what he said.

They sat next to each other, a comfortable silence filling the space between them.

"Supreme Leader Snoke returns soon. I'm leaving tomorrow to explore a planet where I think you'll be safe. If it is, you'll have a new home in a few days."

Rey smiled at the thought, looking at the man beside her who was frowning. She wished he didn't wear that mask so often, either mask. There was his black metal one but also his expressionless face. In her life, she had only seen slaves that could hide their emotions as well as Kylo did, never a master. She looked him up and down, remembered how he spoke of the Supreme Leader. He might not be a slave, but he certainly wasn't free.

She fell asleep sitting against the wall, watching him stare into the distance lost in thought. The next morning, Kylo Ren was gone and Rey was tucked in her blankets. A note sat on the table. She picked it up, reading the words aloud.

"Rey," she liked how he spelled her name. "I will return no later than tomorrow afternoon. Under no cir- circum… stances- circumstances should you leave this room. You will be safe here. Don't forget to eat."

The girl smiled at the paper, not for a moment thinking that anything could possibly go wrong. She should have, though, because nothing was going to go according to Kylo's plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of a filler chapter before the last big events of the story! Hope you enjoyed it. Look for an update in the next week. I'm also working on my other fics and some one-shots just for fun. Thank you all for sticking with me for so long and continuing to comment, I appreciate your patience and support more than I can say.
> 
> Stay safe, and happy holidays!


	9. The General

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Light was strong in his apprentice, and though he tried everything to crush it, erase his Skywalker blood, and leave only Vader, he was failing. Snoke would unaccustomed to failure. What he wanted, he would get, and he wanted Kylo Ren to embrace the Dark Side fully. For the cruel creature, this made his decision easy. If Ren wouldn't break the girl, he would do it himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you get started... this is a violent chapter in parts. There is an attempted rape and graphic torture scene with Hux, but it is in no way an attempt to glorify either of those behaviors. That occurs after the first line break in the story, so please read with caution.
> 
> I debated this chapter a lot, but this development has always been in the plan. I think it fits with the dark feel of this story, but please read carefully and know that nothing portrayed in that scene is something I think is even remotely okay. Anyway, even though this was tough to write and isn't a positive chapter, I hope it's good.

"General Hux, fetch my apprentice. We have much to discuss."

The red-headed First Order General stood from his kneeling position and bowed his head to Supreme Leader Snoke sitting on the throne.

"Supreme Leader, I regret to inform you that Kylo Ren is not aboard the ship."

"Where is he?" The hideous creature glowered down at his General.

"He was not very specific my Lord, but some nearby planet I believe."

"And why is he there, General? Has the Resistance fighter given up the location of the map already?"

"He has not, sir."

"And Ren's slave, is it obedient, catering to his every whim and desire? Has he completely destroyed its spirit?"

Hux considered his next words carefully, pulling his lips into an ugly sneer as he thought of how protective the insufferable young Sith acted toward the girl. Ren had made a mistake in caring for her, and now Hux would use that to destroy him and prove to Snoke once and for all that Kylo Ren could not be trusted.

"If I may, Supreme Leader, I fear that Ren has failed you, failed the First Order. I am sorry to tell you that he seems to treat the girl with, forgive me for saying so… kindness."

"Impossible," Snoke hissed, knowing full well it was entirely possible.

The Light was strong in his apprentice, and though he tried everything to crush it, erase his Skywalker blood, and leave only Vader, he was failing. Snoke would unaccustomed to failure. What he wanted, he would get, and he wanted Kylo Ren to embrace the Dark Side fully. For the cruel creature, this made his decision easy. If Ren wouldn't break the girl, he would do it himself.

"General Hux," Snoke's voice echoed around the room, laced with hatred and warning of something terrible to come. "With my assistance, I believe you will find Ren's chambers easy to enter. The girl is yours. Tell her… hm yes, tell her Kylo has given her as a gift to you. You may do as you like until our Kylo returns, but see to it she lives, General. For now."

Hux bowed his head and swept out of the room, an ugly smirk forming as he stalked towards Ren's chambers, victorious. Snoke chuckled, the dark sound echoing around the throne room where guards in red armor stood like statues.

"You disappoint me, Kylo Ren, but I will make you my Vader. Yes, there will be no more Ben Solo. I will end the conflict in you, even if I must destroy the galaxy to do it."

* * *

Rey was thoroughly engrossed in a book when the doors to Kylo's room slid open. Her eyes flickered up for a moment, and she smiled softly at him, then returned to her reading. It's not Kylo, her mind practically screamed, and she looked up again. She was on her feet in an instant, stumbling backward, the book entirely forgotten as she stared at the pale red-head Kylo despised. General Hux.

"H- how… how—"

"H- h- how?" Hux mocked with a sneer, the door shutting behind him as he stalked toward her. "Ren left me his codes, of course."

"He wouldn't!"

"You dare speak to your master like that?" His voice was eerily calm.

Another man's voice echoed in her mind, and Rey had to tamp down the instinct to adapt, apologize, cower, beg forgiveness. Hux was inches away from her trembling form as she stood her ground despite the fear.

"You're not my master," she spat out.

"Oh, but I am, little Rey," he reached out a hand and grabbed her chin.

Two electric prongs dug into her side, Hux already tired of her insolence. Electricity jolted from the stunner and through her, and she crumpled as everything went black.

Two Stormtroopers dragged the limp girl to the prison cells on the other side of the ship, following the General. They tossed Rey, who was already beginning to wake up, onto the ground with a solid thud, giving her no chance to brace herself.

"Leave us," the General ordered.

The door shut behind the Troopers, plunging the small cell into darkness for a moment. White lights, blinding in their brightness, burst to life. Hux leaned down to Rey. Her eyes flickered open, blinking against the harsh light. It had all happened too fast, and her mind was whirling, a jumbled, confused mess that was trying to make her do a million things. Blood filled her mouth. Her head ached from the impact making it hard to think.

Hux raised a pale hand, brushing her hair back with a smirk, his eyes full of the same lust Rey had seen every day at Jzchar's brothel.

"No," she snapped, eyes lighting up as she slapped his hand and jerked her body back.

Her back was flat against the wall as she stared at Hux.

"Kylo said-" she started.

"Kylo Ren left you to me! He gave you to me as a peace offering, which means you belong to me."

"No," Rey snarled back, but doubt crept into her mind, taking root inside her.

She couldn't bear the thought that Kylo had played the long game. It didn't make sense for him to spend months healing her, helping her mind heal, teaching her, letting her work on little projects for fun only to rip it all away. Unless- no. If he wanted her truly broken, truly subservient, this was how to do it.

Many years ago a master had done this, made her trust him so much she felt like she had a father. She had fought him until he was kind, and then she stopped as he began to treat her like a person. Then one day, just when she began to feel comfortable, he had nearly killed her. After that moment, she always did as she was asked until that day in Jzchar's brothel. Something had snapped then, something that never really permanently fixed itself… the desire to really live. The only thing that could break that for good was exactly what Kylo was doing to her now.

"Yes, little Rey. Your master doesn't want you anymore. You're mine now, and I do want you," he moved closer until their faces were inches apart and she could smell his sweat mingling with the scent of soap, the bars Kylo hated but kept anyway.

Live or die. Fight or survive. This isn't living, though. What a naïve, silly dream freedom was. Kylo Ren left her to Hux like a spare part, like she was nothing.

"I don't believe you," she found the strength to argue, even though it was a lie.

The strike was so sudden, so unexpected she barely felt it at first. Then the all too familiar pain lanced through her face, her cheek reddening and eyes watering. Tears formed, less from the pain and more from the confusion, the loss of someone who she believed all along had been protecting her.

"You'd better start."

Fight or die. Maybe one lead to the other. Rey remembered that feeling, not the feeling of freedom but of hope for it, but it was only a memory now. It would never be real.

"This will be your home," Hux gestured to the bare white room. "I will come to you, and you will serve my every need."

No need to question what that statement meant.

"I won't do it," Rey found herself saying, even though her mind screamed at her to stop, to survive.

Years, no, a lifetime of protecting herself at all costs had conditioned the young woman to endure and do anything to stay safe, the opposite of what she was doing now. Even when she thought Kylo was angry, those instincts had overridden everything in her that didn't want to submit.

Another blow came, this one glancing off her nose. Warm blood spurted down her face, and she heard the nose crack and the familiar feeling of a break. It wasn't the first time her nose snapped.

"We'll start now," Hux whispered into her ear, wrenching her head back with a brutal grasp on her hair that ripped strands from her scalp. "And you will call me master."

Rey punched the pale man square in the nose, probably hurting her own hand more than his face, but it felt good. It also enraged him. He tossed her to the ground by her hair, and Rey realized her mistake, one she would have never made before. She was in kicking range of someone who wouldn't hesitate, didn't hesitate.

His heavy black boot found her ribs. The scream came unbidden as the air was literally kicked out of her.

"You. Are. Mine!" He shouted, each word punctuated by another kick, one slipping and striking her face, drawing more blood.

"Stop! Leave her alone!"

Kylo, Rey thought, looking toward the door. Maybe, just maybe, this was all a lie and Kylo was just held up on that planet and had finally returned.

"Hux! I know that's you! Leave her alone!"

The sound came through the other side of the wall, muffled by the metal panels. Not Kylo. Rey curled in on herself, laying on her side at Hux's feet, using her skinny arms to protect herself. Hux ignored the voice entirely, bending over her and pushing her back.

"Get off," she spat, spraying blood across his face, fighting uselessly as he pinned her beneath him easily.

The loose clothes she borrowed from Kylo wouldn't help her. She shoved at him uselessly.

"Hux, don't hurt her!" Banging accompanied the shouting.

"Am I hurting you?" Hux murmured, moving a cold hand underneath her black sweater, moving upward.

"Kylo will kill you!" Rey snarled, fighting harder.

"Kylo gave you to me!"

"Let her go! Stop this Hux! Do you hear me?"

His other hand closed around her throat while she pummeled him, pressing downward until she was gasping for air. She tried to inhale, struggling, choking. Her face was wet with blood and spit. The stranger next door was still screaming, screaming like she was trying to. Hux was looking at her with the eyes of a mad man, the eyes of most men. Not Kylo with the sad, broken eyes, Kylo who had protected her. Kylo who had betrayed her, had played this game to break her like she was nothing, meant nothing.

With the little air she had, Rey finally screamed.

She pushed upward, trying again to get this disgusting person off her, no longer willing to give in to this life without a fight. Hux flew backward, smacking into the wall so hard the metal paneling bent. Rey drew in a deep breath full of her own blood, coughing on the warm liquid. She rolled over, spitting as she knelt and reminded her lungs what air was like.

Across the cell, Hux stood, staring at her with something akin to fear.

"That's not possible," he growled.

Rey stared down at her hands pressed to the white and bloody floor, suddenly utterly exhausted. The man looked at her, then all but ran to the door, shutting it behind him and leaving the girl alone, alone except for the Force.

* * *

The planet would be safe enough for Rey. Its people were not welcoming, nor were they slavers. The climate was cold, but she could adapt. The town was small enough that she would feel comfortable but large enough that the addition of one girl would be unnoticed. All that was left was to fake her death and leave her here. Then lie to his Master. Oh yes, the easy part, he thought ruefully.

He should be doubting this reckless decision, questioning it, but he had rarely felt so sure of anything in his life.

In saving Rey, he would flirt with the Light for a moment then he could return to the Dark Side and give himself fully to the cause. Find Luke. End the Resistance. Crush his mother.

Leia Organa, not his mother. She would be proud of what he was doing.

He smashed his fist into a panel of his small ship. He didn't care, shouldn't care what his mother thought of him. Pain lanced through his arm as he struck metal. Leia was not his mother. He hit the hard metal, again and again, smashing the panel until his knuckles bled and his hand ached. Even through the pain, he couldn't get the image of his mother's smiling face out of his head.

Kylo exhaled heavily and dropped the mask at his feet. His display screen was smoking and cracked, but it would work. It had functioned through worse. Snoke was due back the next day, which meant he had only a few hours to get back and get Rey off the First Order ship. His master was never early and never late.

What Kylo Ren didn't know was that the Supreme Leader had already returned to the ship and that Rey lay in a prison cell, trying to figure out what she had just done and believing Kylo was responsible for her suffering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, well that was something. I tried to capture Rey's confusion as best I could and make it realistic, so I hope that works for you guys. We're nearing the end, and I'm really excited to get the next couple chapters out to you guys. I've had this series of events planned from the beginning, and now it's just figuring out how to execute it and fill in the minor details.
> 
> As always, thank you for the reviews and please continue to review/follow/favorite. Happy new year, and I hope it is better than 2020!


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